The Fox
by ForteDragon
Summary: Sometimes the little, unexpected things become the most meaningful. Looking back, that's exactly what had happened. AU Elesis x Ara
1. Chapter 1

_"Sometimes you meet someone, and it's so clear that the two of you, on some level belong together. As lovers, or as friends, or as family, or as something entirely different. You just work, whether you understand one another or you're in love or you're partners in crime. You meet these people throughout your life, out of nowhere, under the strangest circumstances, and they help you feel alive. I don't know if that makes me believe in coincidence, or fate, or sheer blind luck, but it definitely makes me believe in something." -Unknown_

* * *

Smoky air rests, heavy and suffocating, in my lungs. The faint sound of sirens ring out in the distance. I stagger away, for I can no longer do anything but hope that I can escape. My eyes are blinded by ash, and a scorching heat lingers over me.

But what is this? This is a different kind of heat. It reminds me... Of something I have not thought of for a long time. I have but one question, before this burning pain consumes me.

Who are you?

* * *

Coughing, Elesis stumbled into a dimly lit hallway. She cursed quietly, rushing to the bathroom with a limp figure held gently in her arms. Carefully, the redhead placed it in the bathtub. A fox. Soot and blood covered its silky, white fur. The red headed girl turned on the water and slowly combed the grime from the fox's wounds. Immediately, the clear water clouded up. After washing the fox, the girl sighed and got up, opening a drawer and extracting a roll of gauze and burn medicine. A quiet whimper caused her to turn. The fox sat there, staring at Elesis, a curious glimmer in it's eyes. Surprisingly, it displayed no hostility, just a slight confusion. Elesis noticed that one eye was a deep red while the other was honey-gold. How strange...

The redhead cautiously approached the creature. She attempted to reach out a hand to bandage its burns, but the fox shied away, baring it's teeth and letting out a soft growl.

"Woah woah woah, I'm not going to hurt you," Elesis said, raising her hands placatingly. Seeming to understand, the fox relented, allowing the girl to bandage the wounds. Burns covered its paws, a trail of blisters and singed fur. The redhead's gaze hardened. Who had been stupid enough to leave an open flame unattended in the forest? The forest fire certainly couldn't have been started naturally, since the past few days had been cool and rainy. There hadn't been any thunderstorms, either. She made a mental note to check back for any injured animals nearby. The fire department probably would have put out the fire by now.

Under its wary, scrutinizing gaze, Elesis finished bandaging the fox and sat back, satisfied. Looking down at herself though, she realized that she was covered in dirt, blood, and ashes. She groaned, debating whether to spend the rest of the night filthy, or risk having a wild animal loose in her house.

"Man, I seriously reek of smoke..." Elesis sighed and stood up. She walked out of the bathroom slowly, looking back to make sure the fox was following her. Sure enough, there it was, flicking its tail back and forth, a few meters away. Elesis strode to her room quietly, until she remembered that she didn't have to. Her younger brother, Elsword, was sleeping over at a friend's house, and wouldn't be bothered if she was noisy. That was probably a good thing, considering that he probably couldn't be trusted around wild animals.

Once the two reached her bedroom, Elesis grabbed a set of clean clothes and sent a hard look at the fox. "Stay," she commanded, "Or once I'm back, you will regret it."

Two fluffy ears twitched, but there was no other response. Normally Elesis would feel weird talking to an animal, but she felt that the fox understood her words. Casting a final glance at the fox, she left the room to shower.

The redhead found no other animals that night. If there were any, they probably were rescued or had escaped already. Elesis turned over in bed. She had given the fox a cardboard box to sleep in. Looking over at the box in the corner of the room, she saw two half-lidded eyes peeking out at her. The girl closed her eyes and slowly eased into a deep sleep.

* * *

A/N:

Elesis is BH age 18

Ara is Asura age 19


	2. Chapter 2

Elesis woke to a warm, soft feeling beside her. Her eyes fluttered open, and there, nestled against her side, was the fox. It took her a few moments to realize that fact, during which she marveled at the creature's beauty and elegance. Slowly, she brushed her fingers over the fox's ears. They were soft and fluffy, as if inviting her to pet them.

At the contact, the fox began to stir. It quickly shook itself awake and spread its jaws wide in a luxurious yawn. It blinked at her in silence as she quickly retracted her hand.

"Why did you come up here, anyway? This is my bed, not yours," Elesis said, laughing. She carefully picked up the fox and set it down on the floor. The fox merely stared up at her expectantly. After a few seconds, it licked its jowls and padded to the door, where it turned to look back at the redhead. Right. The thought suddenly hit her. Of course it would want food, just like any other animal.

Elesis slid her legs over the edge of her mattress and followed the fox out of the room and down a set of stairs to her kitchen. As she reached to open her fridge, she paused. What did foxes eat? She supposed that they could probably eat pet food, but she had none. Elesis thought for a few moments. Perhaps they ate meat. Foxes wouldn't have such sharp teeth If they weren't carnivores or at least omnivores.

Elesis ended up giving the fox the bacon she was planning on cooking and eating that morning. The fox sniffed at it cautiously before digging in. Seeing the fox happily gobble up the meat brought a soft smile to her face. Shaking her head, she sat down at a table and poured herself some cereal.

* * *

Elesis lay on her bed, flipping through the pages of her science textbook. The words seemed to jumble up in her mind, and she was having a hard time focusing. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the fox pad up to the corner of the bed, and soon it was standing beside her, peering down at the book. The redhead raised an eyebrow. From the fox's behavior, it seemed as it were reading the book, but that couldn't be possible, could it?

The fox lightly tapped a spot on the page, drawing Elesis' attention. Then, the fox slid its paw over the pages and tapped another area, before returning its paw to its original location. A - R - A. The fox seemed to be spelling out something. A breath caught in her throat. Could it just be a coincidence?

"Ara," Elesis looked to the fox, confused. "Is that your name?"

The creature let out a half growl, half purr, and happily pranced in a circle. Stunned, Elesis simply stared. Just how smart was this fox? It didn't seem like it had pointed out those letters by chance.

Sighing, Elesis closed her textbook. "Well...I don't suppose I have anything else to call you." The fox leaned it's head against her knee, and she reached down to ruffle its fur. "Ara, huh? That's a nice name..."

* * *

A/N: agrchjedjkn this is hard to write... Sorry for my horrible writing skills TT


	3. Chapter 3

Crickets chirped quietly from beyond the window. The room was dimly lit by silver moonlight that shone in and pooled at the foot of the bed. Beside Elesis, a bundle of fur and warmth slept quietly, it's breathing regulated and soft. It was at moments like this that she couldn't help but feel a bit melancholy.

From the very first day, she had known that Ara, the fox, would have to go. Wild animals would always return to the wild. No matter how vulnerable or domestic it seemed, Ara was not meant for being a pet.

Elesis worried about when that time would come, and what would happen then. The fox had displayed that it was capable of surviving on its own, and it's wounds did not hinder it anymore. Yet, the redhead couldn't shake the feeling that Ara was not just a normal fox. Its actions were too...Nonsensical sometimes, in a way that seemed welcoming and considerate, so wholly human. Maybe that would be dangerous for its future.

Of course, she knew Ara must have thrived in the wild before, but she couldn't shake her pervading worry. Why was that? Her only answer could be that they had grown too close in too short a time. Whenever she met those shining red and gold eyes, there seemed to be more hidden behind that gaze; something undiscovered. Slowly, her eyelashes fluttered closed. Perhaps Elesis was tired or going senile, but she wanted to find out what made the fox so different.

* * *

The clear ringing of an alarm jolted Elesis from her relaxed, sleepy state. She groaned. Today she would have to go to school. The redhead sighed heavily, pushing herself up into a sitting position. Her eyes fell on the furry form beside her. That reminded her, what was she going to do about Ara? She supposed she could trust the fox to behave while there was no one home (so far it hadn't caused many problems), but she would still have to prepare food and water.

The redhead quickly changed into her school uniform and began to prepare breakfast for the fox and herself. Her brother would be going directly from his friend's house to school, but he would be back later in the day. That could cause some setbacks. Elesis didn't get back home until half an hour after her brother, due to club activities. Thus, she could only hope that Elsword wouldn't do anything stupid before she returned. It wouldn't be good if he panicked and hurt Ara somehow. Suddenly she felt very anxious, but quickly buried the feeling and got ready for school.

At first, Ara had attempted to follow Elesis out of the house. The furry creature seemed puzzled and lonely. It melted her heart to see the fox that way. She had turned and stooped down, petting the fox and trying to explain that she would be back later. Ara seemed to understand, and obliged, scampering up the stairs and into the redhead's room. Elesis sighed and headed to school. It was going to be a long day.

* * *

A/N: Short chapter, but it felt more fitting to end it here. It's kind of the beginning of the transition from just a pet and caretaker to something more, but other than that I'm not going to spoil anything!


	4. Chapter 4

Elesis's day passed by in a blur, and her afternoon classes weren't particularly interesting. By the time her clubs ended, she was getting antsy. She quickly grabbed her bag, and would have raced out of the school, had she not realized how rude that would be. The redhead forced herself to take her time; it would not do for her to trip and injure herself, either.

"Got something special planned for this afternoon?" Her classmate, Chung, asked, "You've seemed pretty anxious all day."

"Huh?" Elesis paused. She hadn't paid much attention to her behavior. "O-oh. Yeah, something like that."

 _More like I'm worried_...Elesis thought to herself.

"Well, have fun then. See you tomorrow!" He gave a small wave and left.

* * *

Her house was not far from school, and she kept a brisk pace throughout. Within ten minutes, she was back. Elesis pulled out her house key, opening the door and stepping in.

"I'm home!" She called out, almost dreading the response.

A head of unruly red hair - similar in color to hers - popped out from over the staircase.

"Heya, sis." Elsword drawled out. He was silent for a moment before continuing. "By the way," A smirk spread over his face, "You really shouldn't be taking home cute girls you find on the street."

Elesis froze, confused. "Wait, what are you talking about?"

"I'm disappointed in you, sis. Don't be such a player."

By now, the anxious girl was thoroughly puzzled - a bit embarrassed, too. Her confusion must have shown on her face, because her younger brother merely shrugged and gestured to her room. She was so bewildered that her worries about the fox slipped from her mind.

Setting down her bag, she climbed the stairs, passing Elsword. She stopped at the door to her room, and opened it slowly.

What Elesis saw was a room devoid of its furry freeloader. Instead, sitting on her bed, tangled in its white sheets, was a girl. Well, less of a girl than a woman. Long, black hair with a single streak of white cascaded over her pale shoulders and voluptuous frame. The strange woman was fit, her body similar to that of a fashion model. This, Elesis could tell because the woman was stark naked.

Heat rose on her face, and her surprise caused her to stutter. After a second of tongue-tied, incomprehensible muttering, she figured it best to just retreat. Swiftly, she exited the room and shut the door with an audible thump. Down the hall, Elsword, who was watching, exploded into a fit of giggles, prompting a glare from the older of the two. That quieted him, and he plodded off, though Elesis could still see him peeking out at the other end of the hall.

Behind her, the door creaked and shifted, prompting Elesis to step away. "Hey," a silky voice drifted out, "That was rude of you". The ebon haired woman's shape framed in the doorway. Thankfully, she had pulled the blanket around herself, covering sights that would have sent heat rushing to Elesis' face in a split second.

"What's wrong? Cat got your tongue?" A slight smirk spread across the woman's face, revealing small, pointed canines.

"Er...I...W-who are you?" Elesis managed to stutter out.

"My~ It wounds me that you don't recognize me..."

"Wha-" the redhead stopped, taking a closer look at the girl's face. Slowly, her gaze wandered over the porcelain cheeks and up to the other's eyes. With a start, Elesis realized something strange. One eye was red, and the other a brilliant gold. She let out a small gasp as the realization dawned on her. The woman's smirk only grew.

* * *

A/N: Ahhh I'm so sorry that I haven't updated this in a while! I've been really busy with school, and it was hard to get enough motivation to finish this chapter.

I hope that this chapter wasn't TOO predictable, and that you enjoyed it. There is more of my trash writing on the way :)


	5. Chapter 5

There was no way. Everything inside Elesis screamed that something like this didn't happen; things like this weren't possible. And yet, here in front of her was the very proof she needed. There was no mistaking it. The elegant woman standing before her was none other than Ara, the fox.

"You're…" The redhead whispered, her breath almost a whisper. Her final words stuck somewhere in her throat, but they weren't needed for the taller woman to understand.

"Indeed, I am. What, are you too stunned by my appearance for words?" Long fingers pressed faintly across full pink lips, masking the amused curl of the ebon haired lady's mouth.

This elicited a fit of coughing and sputtering from the usually collected redhead. She quickly recollected herself and gazed at the other girl as she fidgeted with the edge of her shirt.

"...You could say that," Elesis said, as a grin began to tug at her lips, "But you know, you do look pretty damn beautiful."

Ara paused, her expression frozen in surprise for just long enough, caught off guard by the blunt comment of the fiery redheaded before her. She shifted the blanket to cover more of bare skin, a subtle hint of bashfulness, not unnoticed by Elesis.

"Thanks, I guess...No one's really ever said that to me...Not for a long time, at least," When she spoke, her words were quiet.

Sensing the change in the atmosphere, the tomboyish girl gave Ara a gentle smile and patted her comfortingly on the shoulder.

"You're welcome. Now, whaddaya say we get you some clothes and sort out an explanation or something to satisfy my brother. Elsword isn't the most mature of kids, as you might've seen, and who knows what strange stories he's making up about us now?"

The fox/woman then smiled, the first true smile Elesis had seen from her. Not flirty, not sad, not fake. The light shining in her eyes was pure, soft happiness.

"That would be nice."

* * *

A/N: Yeah, it short. :(


End file.
